Rumors echo through the interwebs suggesting that Google AND Apple are developing 3D printers. But are they really?
According to a report on Benzinga, Trip Chowdhry, the Managing Director of Equity Research at Global Equities Research believes that Google is secretly developing an “all-in-one 3D printer”. But wait, the rumor gets better: Google is doing this to catch up to Apple, who is also believed to be developing a 3D printer.
There are no more details. On this speculation.
That’s all it is, in our opinion. Writers often seek to discover new angles of competition between the major powers and that’s what this is.
That said, both Google and Apple are massive, highly competitive companies that employ thousands of researchers and developers specifically to create new products. It would not be surprising if either or both companies have at least investigated 3D printing as a possible future product.
But both companies generally address the consumer space and thus their challenge would be to develop 3D printers and associated ecosystems that are easily usable by their primary market, consumers. That is, if they believe that market would actually buy into the technology.
Neither of these factors is clear at this point. No one has made a truly consumer-friendly 3D printer, although many companies have taken steps in that direction. Apple has made a massive business in simplifying technology for use by all, so it would seem natural they would do so for a complex technology like 3D printing.
But we don’t believe they’re doing it anytime soon.
Via Benzinga